The Yoko Rider & the Devil's Son
by Uzumaki Ricky
Summary: A funny thing about duty is sometimes the devil is in the details.


**Hey, y'all! This is another fic idea that I've had buzzing around in my head for about half a year now, so I decided to get it out. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Dislaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ghost Rider. Wish I did, but I don't.**

**The Yoko Rider & the Devil's Son**

**Prologue**

Carnage, that was the only word that fit what Kushina saw happening around her. Carnage.

'How could this have happened?' She asked, watching from her safe spot while holding her less-than-thirty-minute-old son in her protective arms. Yet replaying the events in her mind didn't give her any answers.

Technically, it all started when she went into labor and a bunch of defenses were put up to ensure as few difficulties took place as possible. When it came to a female Jinchuuriki giving birth, there was no such thing as overkill regarding keeping the Bijuu from escaping. Yet, somehow, someone in a mask and cloak managed not only to get inside her room, but kill Biwako and Taji, take Naruto hostage, and force her husband Minato to separate himself from her to save their child. That was when things really started to get bad.

When Kushina was alone and defenseless, the masked man came back, took her away with an unknown space-time jutsu to some rocky area, and kept her down. With the seal on her already just barely holding the Kyuubi captive, this man somehow managed to influence the beast inside the seal and cast a Genjutsu on it. With a Sharingan. Before Kushina could even say 'stop', the fox was already breaking loose. Normally, this, combined with the stress of recently giving birth, would have killed a woman, but Kushina survived, likely solely thanks to the inherent longevity and stamina her clan was renown for.

Nevertheless, her role in the masked man's plan was obviously done, for he ordered the great fox to kill her. Minato showing up saved her, but the masked man either didn't prioritize her death or believed it was already inevitable, so he left with the fox back to attack Konoha. Minato took his wife and son to a safe haven then went back out to fight with the other ninja. Right now, Kushina could see a lot of destruction, hear a lot of screams, and feel a lot of anguish. She could even smell a lot of blood, but that might have just been in her mind.

'This is terrible, and it's all my fault.' She lamented while crying, her son in her arms being the one thing keeping her calm. 'Can't anyone help us?'

"Oh, I believe I can." A deep gravelly voice suddenly spoke up to answer her silent question.

Kushina whipped her head around when she heard this, looking for the source of the voice. "Who said that?"

She didn't hear a response. Before she could ask again, she heard something outside. She looked out and saw not only Kyuubi, but Gamabunta. 'What is Minato-kun going to do to stop the fox? Without another Uzumaki, he can't seal it away again. With Mito-sama long dead, the only ones left are me and...' Her blood chilled before the thought finished, but she looked down in her arms. '...Naruto.'

She closed her eyes. 'No, I will not allow my son to bear that burden. Not when I can take it back.'

Her resolve strengthened, Kushina got to her feet and placed Naruto in a crib. 'I can't spare a clone, I'll need all the chakra I have in me to do this. Naruto, my son, mommy will be back soon.'

With that, Kushina turned to face her former prisoner as well as her husband and his summon, a resolved look on her face. Kyuubi and Gamabunta disappeared from view as soon as she went outside, but she knew that didn't mean the fight was over. Nope, it had merely relocated, thanks to Minato's jutsus. 'This will be harder to get to, but the Hiraishin formula on me works bother ways. It can take me to him just as easily as it can bring him to me.'

Enacting it, she found herself outside Konoha, but not next to Minato. Rather, she was by a stray tri-kunai on the ground near where Kyuubi and Gamabunta were clashing. The teleport wore her out marginally, so she hid and waited. 'Gotta get the right moment where the fox is alone, then I can trap it.'

She saw Gamabunta pin the Kyuubi down just as it began to form a ball of dark chakra in it's mouth.

'No time to wait, I gotta do it now.' She thought before allowing several chakra chains to burst out of her back and wrap around the distracted Bijuu. She sent the chains underground to avoid alerting the Kyuubi, and it worked perfectly. The chains burst out around the giant fox and tied him down.

"Kushina!" Minato said, reappearing beside her, seeing her look close to death's door. "You shouldn't be here!"

"You can't beat this thing without me, Minato. We _both_ know it." She told him with a tired smile. "I'll drag the Kyuubi back inside me, and die with it trapped. That should keep it from doing anything for a while, long enough to hopefully find more of my clan."

"You can't do this Kushina! I _need_ you!" He insisted.

"I know, and I don't want to, but this is the only way and we know it." She told him.

Minato looked like he just got an idea. He quickly disappeared in a yellow flash, then reappeared, holding Naruto. "No, it _isn't_. Naruto has Uzumaki blood and chakra. He can hold the fox for you."

Kushina's eyes widened. "How can you suggest this? You want the first thing you do as a father to be using your son as a human sacrifice?"

"But this way you can live and we can still be a family." Minato insisted, sounding like he was trying to avoid crying.

Kushina smiled sadly at Minato. "We both know that, even if I _don't_ reseal the Kyuubi inside myself, I'm going to die without a medic on level with Tsunade around, Minato. Once a Jinchuuriki has had their Bijuu ripped out of them, death is practically _inevitable_."

"But I can't lose you!" He told her.

"I know, but what mother will live at the expense of her child? Besides, I have no regrets. I got to be with you, and have our precious baby. If my death can let him live a life better than the one I had, then it will be worth it." Kushina replied, that same sad smile still on her face.

Suddenly, Kushina felt white-hot pain shoot through her body and cried out in agony. Unfortunately, this caused her to lose her grip on the Kyuubi for at least a moment. With Kushina's grip on it temporarily loosened, the Kyuubi lunged forward with it's claws, intending to impale it's former jailer and her family before they could attempt to seal it. But, when the claws of the strongest of the nine Bijuu were only a few feet away from the Uzumaki-Namikaze family, time seemed to stop.

No, not stop. It was barely noticeable, but time had merely slowed to the point where it _seemed_ to stop.

"What's going on?" Kushina asked, seeing that her own speed was normal. "Is this another space-time jutsu?"

"Not one I know of." Minato answered, also normal but on the defense, in case the masked Uchiha was behind this.

Suddenly, they heard a voice chuckle. One that Kushina recognized as the one from before, and in this setting it was downright disturbing. "This isn't one of those jutsu you shinobi are so fond of. After all, even with my powers being so limited, no _human_ could have the power to do this to the extent that I can."

"You speak like you think you aren't human." Minato said, his danger sense going off like crazy.

"I don't think, I know." The voice replied. "I'd like to say I'm far worse, but, truth be told, there are many times you humans don't even need my involvement to make things be as bad as you claim I make them. Somehow, your kind always manages to raise the bar. But at least that encourages me to keep up with your wicked ways."

Kushina narrowed her eyes at hearing this. Sure, there were a lot of people in the world that could be cruel and vile, but not _all_ humans were that way. "Where are you? Show yourself!"

"Oh, if you say so." The voice replied, something about it feeling, in some way, sinister to the two parents.

From out of the shadows, shadows that shouldn't have even been where he was standing, emerged a middle-aged man with short white hair and black eyes. He wore a simple black cloak with black gloves, black shoes, and carried a cane that was decorated on the top with a crystal skull. He didn't look menacing, yet somehow just being near him made the hairs on their entire body stand up and Naruto start crying.

Minato began to try and calm Naruto, then looked at the man who appeared from shadows that came out of nowhere. "J... just who or what _are_ you...?"

"A proper introduction would take far too long, so just call me Mephisto and leave it at that. And, since your next question is bound to be what do I want or why am I here, I'll just cut to the chase. I see an investment here that can be beneficial to me, so what I want is for the two of you to live past this night." The man replied.

Minato narrowed his eyes as Kushina narrowed hers further. They didn't trust this man, Mephisto. I_f_ that was even his real name.

"You doubt me, you're suspicious of me." He noted, as if he was mentioning the weather. "Good, you should. You wouldn't be good ninja if you didn't.

"But you're forgetting one very important detail. Right now, I'm the only one who can give you an alternative to your act of desperation. So, is your self sacrifice and potentially orphaning of your child while damning him to a life of prejudice really so important you won't even entertain my offer before dismissing it?"

The two parents shared a look at this. Could they trust him? No. Was there any harm in at least hearing him out? Not that they could see.

"What do you want?" Minato asked.

"What do I want?" Mephisto repeated, laughing lightly as if it were a joke, and started to walk slowly around them in a circle for some reason. "Like I said, I see an investment. I see a bright future for your children.

"Not just this boy, but any others you might have. But of course, for that to happen you two need to live long enough to have them and give them a good start in life. Dying here would be... counter-productive to that."

"You can't take my son from me!" Kushina growled, glaring at him with hate-filled eyes that would make the strongest Kage cower in fear.

"My dear, did I say any such thing? I believe I said I needed you to give them a good start in life. Keep your son. Keep all your children. I'm no father figure. _Anyone_ can tell you that." Mephisto commented, still walking in a circle.

"Any kind of involvement I would have is merely from the shadows. No different than the Anbu defending the people on the street, stepping in only when it looks like something bad is going to happen."

"What do you want with our children?" Kushina asked, making it clear she already didn't like it.

"What do I want?" He said, sounding like it was a question from a test. "I guess I want to give your son a job when he's old enough."

"A job?" Minato repeated, not liking this any more than Kushina did.

"Yeah, work for a good cause. An important one, where lives and fate will be in the balance. You could say people's very souls will depend on him doing this job." Mephisto stated.

Minato looked back at Kushina. "Do you think he's lying?" He whispered to her quietly.

"If he is, he's doing a damn good job." She replied

Mephisto smirked. "Yes, a damn good job, what a perfect way to describe what I'm offering your son. Isn't that what you want for him as well?"

Minato narrowed his eyes at the man. He still didn't trust him. And, by her body language, Minato could tell that Kushina didn't trust him, either. But if this man really _was_ telling the truth, could they afford to pass up an offer like this just because he _might_ not be?

But, at the same time, he was still very vague about exactly what he was offering. A job for Naruto, who wasn't even an hour old? What could he possibly have in mind for the boy that he couldn't offer others? What was it about Naruto that interested him so much? That was what Minato didn't like.

Plus, they had resealing the Kyuubi to think about. They could just seal it back inside Kushina. But, if that prophecy that Jiraiya told him about had any merit behind it, then there's a highly-possible chance that Naruto was this so-called "Child of Prophecy" that the Elder Sage Toad told Jiraiya about. And if that was the case, then he'd likely need the power of the Kyuubi behind him to aid him. And there was also a chance that whatever this man was offering would help Naruto do that, as well.

"I can tell you're both still skeptical of my offer." Mephisto added. "There's probably nothing I can say that will convince you to take it. Except maybe this.

"If you _don__'t_ accept it, all three of you here will die tonight and that right there..." He pointed to the Kyuubi. "Will win. And kill everyone, sinner and saint alike. So you're making this a lot more complicated than it needs to be."

Even if they didn't want to admit it, they knew in their hearts that Mephisto had a point. If they didn't manage to reseal the fox, it would kill them _and_ their son before going on to destroy the village. Besides, even if they _did_ manage to seal it into Naruto, there was a high chance of them dying in the process, leaving Naruto alone. Could they _really_ bring themselves to do that when an alternative was staring them in the face?

"You guarantee that everything you say will happen?" Minato asked causiously.

Mephisto stopped walking, then pulled a piece of rolled-up paper out of his pocket and showed it to him. "Just sign this and all three of you will live with no damage to any of you. Not only that, but the fox will be right where you want it to be."

Minato and Kushina looked at each other. They could tell how hesitant the other was, but neither really saw any better options open to them. Eventually, Minato broke eye contact with Kushina and handed Naruto to her before walking over to Mephisto.

Mephisto smirked. "In order for the deal to be properly sealed, it needs to be signed in blood."

"Blood? Like a summoning contract?" Minato asked cursiously.

"In principle, though the effect will be different." Mephisto elaborated.

"How so?" Minato pressed.

"You want to discuss the details, or do you want the fox's claw to get closer than it already has?" Mephisto asked.

Minato looked back at the fox. It's claws were getting a little too close for comfort, in his opinion. So he turned back and sighed. "Alright, I'll sign. Give me the pen."

Mephisto took out a pen and Minato held out his hand, but, rather than give him the pen, Mephisto pricked his finger with it.

"Ow!" Minato said, pulling back his hand, but not before some drops of blood dropped on the contract, right in the spot where a name would go. "What was that for?"

"Only blood is needed, it doesn't have to spell anything." He said before turning to Kushina. "You turn. And not to worry, no blood is needed from your baby."

Kushina felt herself become less tense at that. There was _no_ way she would have let him draw any blood from her baby if _that_ was what it took. She reluctantly stepped forward and walked towards Mephisto and her husband. He pricked her finger too and the blood fell down right next to her husbands.

Mephisto smiled, but for a split second it looked like half of his lips were... crocodilian, for lack of a better word. "Yes, this will do very nicely. Alright, as promised, you will get what you want. I'll let you know when it's time for Naruto to take up the job."

Without another word, he tapped the ground with his cane and a strong shockwave sprang forth like a meteor had hit instead. The air darkened and he disappeared in the same out-of-place shadows he came from. Minato looked at Kushina with a grim look on his face while also noticing that she somehow looked like she'd _never_ had the Kyuubi ripped out of her. Hell, she didn't even look like she had been pregnant recently, let alone just gave birth. She was the prime picture of health.

Minato was beyond surprised to see this. He then looked back at where Mephisto disappeared. One question went through his mind as he looked back there. 'D... did _he_ do that...? How...?' Looking around, Minato saw the Kyuubi was gone from sight too. "Where did the fox go?"

Kushina looked down and was going to check her stomach, but she didn't need to. She also noticed that, somehow, Naruto was no longer in her hands. On the ground was Naruto crying, having been awoken, and, on his stomach, was an eight trigram seal. Kushina felt herself pale as realization quickly hit her. "No... he didn't... he got Naruto involved."

Minato grimaced. "He said he'd put the fox where we wanted it. We thought that mean back in you, but he must have meant our idea to put it in Naruto instead."

"Is _this_ what he had in mind for our son?" Kushina questioned, trying to keep herself from panicking. "Is the job he wanted Naruto to do... to be the Jinchuuriki?"

"I don't know. Not only that, how did he stop the fox like that _and_ seal it in our son without either of us seeing how it was even done? What was that guy?" Minato asked.

Kushina picked Naruto up and held her baby to her, trying to get him to feel safe. "I don't know, but my gut tells me we'll have to find out someday. And maybe not at a time we want to."

(Scene switch)

It took roughly an hour for everything in Konoha to return to a state of people. Civilians were sent back home, patrols were put back in place with extra help, and the casualties were recorded and collected with the injured sent to hospitals. For Minato and Kushina, there was nothing more they wanted than to simply go home and rest with their son safely between them. But, sadly, they had business to attend to.

Minato had to assemble an emergency meeting of the council to let everyone know the situation, cause, and aftermath of what had just happened, as well as be told from them what had happened he was unaware of. It was times like this he hating having to be Hokage. Kushina was with him, with Naruto in her arms, because she didn't trust being away from Minato tonight. Not with two mysterious men loose and interested in her son.

Walking together, the two new parents walked into the full council meeting room. A while ago, to help the village recover from losses and damages taken from the last war, a civilian council was created to help with civilian and financial matters. They had little to no say in shinobi matters, but not for a lack of trying. Apparently they saw this as an opportunity to not be second to shinobi anymore in a village made specifically for shinobi. Eventually, they accepted their lot and decided to do the best with what they had, but some would still try to gain some influence when possible.

Minato took his assigned spot with Kushina pulling up a chair beside him, cooing Naruto to keep him asleep. A baby being in the room was already a strange thing, but a crying one would be downright intolerable. The councilors, civilian, shinobi, _and_ elder, all hushed when the Hokage entered the room. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, would have smiled at seeing the respect his predecessor garnered from others in the village by simply entering the room if the situation weren't so serious. And the fact that he found out from Minato that his wife, Sarutobi Biwako, had been killed by whoever had ripped the Kyuubi out of Kushina certainly did a lot to dampen his mood, as well.

"Everyone, you can sleep easy tonight." Minato said to the council, allowing a lot of them to relax as if a weight was dropped from their shoulders. "Is what I'd like to say. While the threat of the Kyuubi is gone, there is another threat that is much more serious."

"More serious than a demon attacking?" One of the civilians asked.

Minato sighed. "Did I give permission for others to speak yet?"

"I'm not one of your ninja flunkies. You have no authority over me." The civilian said defiantly. This particular civilian had always been a problem to Minato, acting as if the council was the civilian equivalent to the Hokage position and under no one else's jurisdiction other than his own.

"I'm tired of arguing this with you. So it's time for action." Minato said before making a shadow clone that grabbed the civilian. "Take him to Ibiki and tell him to use 'Civilian Treatment B'." The clone, of course, already knew this, but he said it mostly to get the point across to everyone else that he was in no mood to be tested tonight.

The clone disappeared and Minato looked at the remaining people in the room. "Anyone else think they're untouchable?"

The remaining councilors, especially the civilians ones, all shook their heads. Some of them may have been arrogant, but they weren't _stupid_. They knew that Minato had a good few decades of being Hokage ahead of him if all went well and wouldn't take anything like that from anyone unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Now, as I was saying, when I was out facing the demon, I was forced to face a man. A man wearing a mask that as farfetched as it can be, I can only conclude is Uchiha Madara." He added.

"Preposterous!" Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan, scoffed. "The man is dead! And, even if he _were_ alive, he'd be far too ancient to pose any threat to you!"

"I know, but this assailant did in fact show some capability to control the Kyuubi and admitted to making it appear and attack Konoha. If not Madara, then someone else in the clan has gained a power similar to him." Minato added.

Even Fugaku could not dispute this. The only two Uchiha in the clan's history that had been known to even _possibly_ have the power to control Kyuubi were Uchiha Madara and his younger brother Izuna. Izuna had died before ever even attempting it, so they didn't know if he could have been able to, but Madara took control of it and used it to help him battle the Shodaime Hokage. In other words, unless some other Uchiha somehow gained the power to or learned how to accomplish this without Fugaku himself knowing, then it could only be Madara.

"This man escaped from the fight, and, with the control over Kyuubi broken, the fox was disoriented long enough for me to seal it away so it can't hurt anyone again. The man, however, is still out there, and we need to be on alert for a potential reappearance" Minato said, hoping this way he could avoid putting a potential bulls-eye on his son. While he trusted the village to treat Naruto right, at the moment, it was a need-to-know matter.

Besides, he couldn't lie and make it seem like the man took the fox with him or that it escaped. If they thought the fox was still on the loose, with or _without_ someone who could control it and set it against the village again also on the loose, the villagers would panic and the shinobi might even refuse to take missions out of fear of coming home to seeing the village having been erased off the map. It would be nothing short of mass hysteria and chaos. And, right now, they couldn't afford to have that.

"Maybe we know where the fox is?" Homura, one of the elders, asked.

Minato shook his head. "I'm afraid that's classified information."

"And why is that?" Koharu, another elder, asked. "The Kyuubi is a threat to us all. We are entitled to know where it is, so we can ensure it cannot escape."

"Perhaps your age is starting to catch up with you, elder. I said a man we've yet to positively identify was able to take control of the Kyuubi. If information regarding where it is kept were to get leaked out it would be inevitable for him to find it again." Minato pointed out.

That was a rather good point for the majority of the council, but not all of it.

"You think we'd let such information out and in dangerous hands?" Homura asked, seeming offended.

"All it takes is one crack in a dam to degrade the entire integrity of the structure. This information is on a strict need-to-know basis and I don't see anyone in this room that needs to know. That is final." Minato claimed.

The rest of the councilors couldn't argue with their Hokage's logic. Hiruzen, on the other hand, internally smirked at this. He saw what happened and knew that they'd sealed the fox into their son. Minato had effectively just prevented mass hysteria and kept a huge bulls-eye from being painted on his son's back in one fell swoop. It did the aged former Hokage's heart good to see that he'd made the right choice in choosing Minato as his successor.

Minato then leaned back in his chair and smiled. "There is something to celebrate tonight, though. My son was born. Not the best timing, if you ask me." He added with a laugh, attempting to lighten the mood.

A few of the councilors, mostly civilian, felt their moods darken at this, especially when they took a closer look at their Hokage's son. The boy had whisker marks on his cheek _and_ was born the very same night the Kyuubi attacked. This couldn't be a coincidence, especially since there was no reason to believe whisker marks were normal in the Namikaze or Uzumaki families. Those who knew of Madara's connection with the Kyuubi and what Madara was like saw this as a bad omen, _especially_ about the child himself.

Of course, not _all_ of them felt this way. Mostly just the more paranoid ones.

"Hokage-sama, what if it wasn't bad timing?" One of the civilians asked.

This certainly got Minato's and Kushina's attention. "What do you mean?" Minato asked, no longer in the mood to laugh.

"What if the man who took control of the Kyuubi somehow _knew_ when your son would be born and chose then to use the Kyuubi to attack us, thinking that your guard and all of ours would be low enough for whatever they had planned to succeed?" The same civilian asked.

"Speaking of which, I must ask, Hokage-sama. Why does the child have whisker marks?" Another civilian asked. "It's been confusing me since I first got a good look at him. To my knowledge, they aren't clan markings."

"I'm more bothered by this strange scent I'm getting from the pup." Tsume, head of the Inuzuka clan, commented.

Many of the other occupants, all of whom who didn't have highly sharpened senses on level if not surpassing those of a ninken, gained confused looks at this. Strange scent? What could she mean by that?

"Care to be more specific?" Kushina asked in a way that was bordering on irritable, maybe hostile.

"That's the problem, I can't. It's just... well, the closest comparison I can make is something I've smelled coming off of you before, Kushina. In fact, the more I smell it, the more I think it's identical." Tsume explained.

Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan, narrowed his eyes at this and discretely looked down to make it look like he was lost in thought. Then, using a little chakra as possible, the Hyuuga head activated his Byakugan and focused his kekkei genkai's gaze on the child of his Hokage. With his doujutsu, he saw a small reddish tint to the normal blue chakra of the boy, too faint to be noticed unless someone was actively looking for a difference like he had been. Hiashi had seen this chakra inside Kushina before, although that was only once and he'd been _sure_ that he'd been imagining it.

It seemed so familiar to him, but for another reason. Hiashi's eyes widened as he quickly realized why that was. It was the same color as the Kyuubi's was, which he had seen when he'd been helping battle against it during the Kyuubi attack. That meant that there was a chance that Kushina was it's Jinchuuriki before tonight. And, if that chakra was inside her and Minato's son, then that meant...

'Minato's trying to protect his son from becoming the target of frightened and confused masses who might want a scapegoat more than they want a hero.' He told himself, resolving himself to play ignorant. Discretely deactivating his Byakugan, Hiashi made a mental note to be on the look out for the boy in case something happened to him.

"Remember how I possess a chakra that's a little different than normal standards, thus made learning conveniental jutsu more difficult for me?" Kushina asked, and Tsume nodded. "Maybe my son inherited it as well and that's what you're smelling."

"Could be." Tsume admitted.

Many of the rest of the councilors accepted this answer. Although some of them still had their suspicions, even if they didn't voice them.

"So, for the time being, the worst is behind us. But there is still a risk of returning danger, if this man posing as Madara manages to acquire another Bijuu." Minato continued. "Security for the village will be increased until we have reason to believe the threat is less likely. Also, Fugaku, I want a record of every Uchiha in and out of the village on my desk tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Fugaku asked, confused by the order.

"We need to find out if this person is really Madara or not. A good way to narrow down the possibilities is eliminating the likelihood of an Uchiha in Konoha masquerading as him." Minato elaborated.

Fugaku grudgingly nodded his consent. Being a very private person, he didn't wish to do this. But he couldn't argue that his Hokage had a good point. And, if he knew Namikaze like he thought he did, he was also making sure that they didn't have a security breach because of a member of the Uchiha clan. If such a thing were true, then his own clan would be shamed forever. It was better to sacrifice a little privacy if it meant preserving their honor.

"If anyone else has nothing they wish to discuss, I believe we can all go home." Minato said to wrap things up. "I know I'd sure like to."

The others all nodded in agreement. They wanted nothing more than to go home and let this horrible night end. Well, except for Hiruzen. He didn't want to go home to a practically empty house just yet. But, like they say in bars when it's closing time, he didn't have to go home, but he couldn't stay here.

Sighing, Hiruzen decided that he might as well get going home to a practically empty house for the first night of many to follow over with.

"Alright. Meeting adjourned, everyone." Minato said before getting up, with Kushina getting up with him.

(Time skip – Four-and-a-half years later)

It had been almost four and a half years since the Kyuubi attack. The village of Konohagakure was recovering nicely, all things considered. And the weather was perfect. There wasn't a dark cloud in the sky, the sun was shining, and the weather wasn't too hot or too chilly. Overall, a perfect day to either stay inside or go out, whichever you preferred.

Right now, Minato Namikaze, his wife Kushina Uzumaki, at least until they revealed their marriage to the public once the village had fully recovered, and their son, Naruto, were spending the part of the afternoon inside. Kushina was in the kitchen getting lunch ready while Minato was keeping Naruto company.

Kushina was perfectly content, nothing to worry about, when suddenly she felt uncomfortable. Like someone was watching her. "Who's there?" She whispered, so as not to alert her husband needlessly, while reaching for a knife.

A chuckling was heard. A familiar one that she'd hoped to never hear again.

"It's nice to see that you haven't gotten rusty in your past few years as a housewife and mother." The owner of the voice said to her.

Kushina's eyes narrowed as she heard the words of owner of the voice. "Mephisto...!"

"Ah, so nice to be remembered! Usually, when I come to collect, your kind likes to pretend they have no idea what I'm talking about. I would like to say it's because I did too good a job of convincing your kind I don't exist, but let's face it, when it comes to responsibility you're all cowards. Some are just less cowardly than others." Mephisto said.

'This guy sure likes to hear himself speak.' Kushina thought, clenching her fist tightly. "Just shut the hell up and tell me what you mean by collect! You got what you wanted!"

"Oh, I only got what I wanted started. I'm far from getting my real goal in it. That would be like saying once you got your headband that was as far as you intended to go." Mephisto countered, bothering her with the fact she couldn't see him.

Kushina glared at the area around her. "Show yourself, damn you!"

"Sorry, I'm the damner, not the damned." He said, the room getting darker as if outside the sun was disappearing. From the corner of her vision, he came into view, like he was intentionally trying to creep her out.

"Kushina?" Minato asked, coming into the darker room, then stopped. "You!"

"Yes, me. Were you expecting Santa Claus?" Mephisto said jokingly.

"You have no business in my home!" Minato declared.

"Do you want to argue, or do you want to get this visit over with?" Mephisto asked the blond Hokage.

Minato glared at him lightly. "Why are you here, anyway? You already got what you wanted!"

Kushina just sighed and shook her head. "Apparently, he didn't!"

"Then what _do_ you want? Unless you tell us specifically, then, as far as I'm concerned, we don't owe you more!" Minato challenged.

"Big talk for a man who doesn't know what he's talking to." Mephisto said, his voice getting darker, almost like he was growling and talking at the same time. It was like... the voice of a dragon, that was the most fitting description. "You want to know what I want?"

"If it weren't already apparent, yes, we do! The sooner you get what you want and leave, the sooner we can get back to spending the day with our son!" Kushina snapped, then gasped and looked to her husband. "Where is he? You didn't leave him unprotected did you?" The sudden horror that maybe Mephisto was distracting them so he could do something to her son chilled her blood.

"Relax, he's not what I'm here for." Mephisto said, his voice normal again. "Well, not in the sense you're paranoid about. I have no desire or intention to take him away from you. In fact, it's more to my benefit and his if he stay here. What I'm here for, is to get your body started on the job I have in mind for him."

"He's only four years old." Minato pointed out.

"He won't actually be doing the job tonight, you fool. This is more what you call training. Getting him prepared for when he does start." Mephisto explained.

"Prepared how?" Kushina asked, not liking how he was still subtly avoiding a direct answer.

Suddenly, a smirk crossed Mephisto's face. One that neither Minato nor Kushina liked in the slightest. "The first part will be rather simple and harmless, and one you two already intended to do for him. As well as any children you might have later." He said creepily yet jovially while briefly patting Kushina's stomach, as if to imply any child she might birth later. "His first lesson is the difference between good and evil."

This had them slightly confused. What did he mean by "first lesson"? And they had already intended on teaching him the difference between good and evil. "We will handle that on our own."

"Go ahead, but there's no harm in hearing it from another person to help it sink in." Mephisto told them.

Kushina clenched her fist lightly. The _last_ thing she wanted was her son getting a lesson in that from someone like _him_, whoever or _what_ever he was! She didn't know why, but she just had a feeling that whatever that "lesson" would entail would make life more difficult for her son. "Whatever you have in mind for my son, you can wait until he's older like anyone else."

"You don't have a choice." Mephisto said plainly, as if he were a mere waiter telling the customer they were out of a certain item on the menu.

Kushina's fist clenched tighter as she resisted the urged to deck this... whatever he was.

"You signed the contract, both of you. I held my end of the bargain, it's time for you to hold yours." Mepisto said, clearly not taking no for an answer.

"Then deal with us. Our son has nothing to do with it." Minato stated.

Mephisto's smirk seemed to grow. This put both Minato and Kushina even more on edge. "I told you part of the terms of your survival was him doing a job for me, and you say he's got no part in it? Truth is, he's already a part of it, even more than you two are."

Minato and Kushina both tensed at this. They had almost forgotten that part. Not only that, but, if they tried to go back on that part of the deal, he could go back on his end. If he did that, then either the two of them and Naruto would be dead and the Kyuubi would be free again or just the two of them would be dead and Naruto would be alone as a Jinchuuriki. And who knows how that would affect him.

Whether they liked it or not, he had them caught. He knew it and, more importantly, _they_ knew it.

"What is this job you want our son to do?" Kushina asked.

"I want him to do what you want him to do. Be a tough warrior, a symbol against unbridled and unrestrained evil tainting the world, acting like it can do as it pleases without consequence. I want him to put a stop to that, and discourage more evil from thinking it can take over the world. The only thing I plan to do regarding him is give him a specific weapon for doing it, once he's old enough, and give him a list of some evil to eliminate once he can use it." Mephisto announced.

"What kind of weapon?" Kushina asked.

"Not important right now. What is important is he's able to use it, and that requires a fine distinction between good and evil and power to make evil know it's place. Tonight, I bestow onto him a gift to help his progress, luck in disaster." Mephisto told them.

"What? "Minato asked, not getting it.

"Pain is an excellent teacher, but death would only end everything for him. It's not in my best interest that he die. So, from now on, whenever it looks like he's going to die, he will in whatever miraculous way possible survive. Whether or not he's unharmed in the process is no guarantee, and this does not apply to times and circumstances where his life isn't in danger. Let's just say until his job is done, there's no chance of him dying, by accident or otherwise." Mepisto explained.

Minato and Kushina weren't sure of what to think of that. On the one hand, as parents, it made them feel relieved that they won't lose their son until his time comes. But it also made them worry that having that kind of luck in situations like those would make him become reckless.

"Won't he become arrogant and think of himself as unstoppable?" Minato asked.

"Only if he were to catch on. I'd suggest never actually telling him. Also, he can still get hurt like anyone else, he just won't die from it. A broken arm isn't lethal but still teaches someone to be more careful with how they use it." He reoplied.

Kushina and Minato both nodded. They could see the wisdom in that. Not only that, but they knew in their hearts that, no matter what Naruto went through as he got older, he'd most likely need this "gift" of Mephisto's at at least one point in his life.

"Is that all for now?" Kushina asked.

"It should suffice, but I might show up from time to time to give him my own lessons to learn."

Minato and Kushina nodded. They could agree to that. But that didn't mean that they wouldn't be watching Mephisto carefully during said "lessons".

"That's enough for one visit. Go back to enjoying your time. You ninja never know how much you have after all." He said before disappearing into nothing, and the room inexplicably got lighter again.

Minato and Kushina both breathed a sigh of relief when Mephisto left. They didn't know why, but something about him put them on edge. And, for some reason, his parting comment put them even _more_ on edge.

_**To Be Continued...**_

**Well, there ya' have it! The first chapter of my Naruto x Ghost Rider crossover. Hope you guys enjoyed! But, on a more serious note, I found out something disturbing. _This is a message from dracohalo117, Leaf Ranger, ChaosSonic1, and Uzumaki Ricky:_**

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**_We need to stand united against this, if this passes, then we will be demolished, fanfiction, deviantart, youtube, and anything that has anything remotely fan-made, will be destroyed. We have to spread the word to everybody we know, and beyond. This bill will keep popping up, but it is up to us to stand against it._**

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